Gas-engine starter.



C. H. CUNO.

' GAS ENGINE STARTER.

APPLICATIQN FILED JAN. 27, 1913.

Patented Nov` 11, 1913.

` 0. 1-1. GUNO. GAS ENGINE STARTER. APPLICATION FILED' JAN.27, 1913.

Patented Nov. 11, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WW1/Lego@ v number of cylinders.'

- CHARLES H. cUNo, or Marsman, coNNEoTIcUT.

GASFENGINE STARTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. ,11, 1913.

Application led January 27, 1913. Serial No. 744,287.

To all whom t may concern.' y

Be it known that I, CirAnLEs H. CUNo,

a -citizen of the United States,` residin at..-

Meriden, New Haven county, Stateof onnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas-Engine Starters,l

of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improved gas engine starter, the chief objects being to attain simplicity of construction and operation without sacrifice todurability and reliability.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section of one part of my invention. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of another part of my invention. Fig. 3 is a section-thereof on the line -w.

In the form shown in the drawings, my

invention is designed to supplyl gas to a four-cylinder motor, although it should be understood and will be apparent that it may be employed with an engine having any understood that I am showing my invention in a preferred form only and that various modifications and variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

1 represents a cylinder for measuring the ,gas which is to be deliveredv to the engine cylinder or cylinders. 2 represents a piston therein having a suitable packing means. y

3 represents a hollow plston-operating rod which projects outwardly and may be provided with a handle 4. Around this rod 3 is located a short spring 5, fthe function of which will be later described.

6 is an adjustable head at the outer end of the cylinder, which constitutes a movable abutment which may be adjusted to any desired position, said abutment' being located in the path of movement of the spring 5 so that as the piston moves outwardly, the

yspring 5 will abut against the same, whereby further movement of the piston will be resisted so that any gas tending to force the piston out farther will increase in pressure Within the cylinder 1 before the piston has reached the limit of its outward excur-v slon.

7 is an inlet pipe which is connected with any suitable source of gas supply under pressure.

8 is a valve controlling the passage through the inlet 7, said valve 8 being suit- 4ably packed as at 9 to prevent leakage and4 being provided with a suitable handle 10 preferably 'located adjacent to the handle 4 for the yconvenience of the operator. The inlet passage leads from the valve 8 into the bottomv of the cylinder 1, the said passage being further controlled by a valveyll which is normally held open by means of a spring 12 so that any gas entering through theinlet 7 and past the valve 8 may pass freely into the measuring cylinder beneath the piston 2.

rThe valve 11 1s providedwith a rod 14:

whichl passes up into the tubular rod.3 and 1s provided with an abutment or shoulder4 15 which is engaged by a shoulder 16 at the lower end of the tubular rod 3 when the pisto-n 2 has approximately reached the limit of its outward' movement so that5the-last partial outward movement of the piston 2 will operate on the rod 14 to pull the valve 1l into the closed position. The valvell will then .stay closed under the pressure -of the gas entering through the inlet 7. It should be understood that the`end of the spring 5 engages the head 6 considerably before the shoulder 16 engages t-he shoulderv 15 of the valve 11, hence, the last part ofthe outward movement of the piston is resisted bythe spring pressure 5, which, of necessity.,

`requires additlonal pressure of the gas back of the piste-n 2 to move it the last part of its outward excursion. This resistance may be variedby shifting the head 6, the aim being to have the piston move a certain predetermined distance so as to guarantee a fixed volume,- the pressure within said fixed space being determined by the resistance `of the spring 5 Vand the position of Ithe head 6. The spring 5, being very much shorter than the full' stroke of the pist-on 2, guarantees the easy movement of the piston for the greater part of its outward stroke, the pressure being built up within the cylinder 1 and beneath thepiston 2 on the last part of said stroke.

17 is 'an outlet passage at the bottom of the cylinder 1 which leads to a suitable distributer, a preferred form ofwhich will now be described. Referring to-Fig. 3, the out let 17 is connected, by means of a suitable This 'inlet 18 leads to a valve 19 which is normally held closed under the action of a spring 20. This valve 19 is of substantially greater cross-sectional area than the inlet opening 18 and its main body pipe (not shown), with an inlet 18 of a distributer.

23-23 are distributing tubes provided in' a number corresponding to the number of cylinders to which it is intendedA to .feed the gas. Each of these distributing tubes is provided with a check valve 24,l each of which is no-rmally'held closed `by means of a suitable spring 25. 4Assuming that the piston 2 of the measuring device has been pushed back by gas -enteringrthrougli ,the inlet 7 and pastthe valve 11, such gas as is contained underneathl the piston 16 may now be forced throughthe several distributing tubes 23 by simply pressing in on the handle 4, forcing the'piston 2 ahead and forcingthe gas contained within the measuring cylinder 1 throughtheoutlet 17 andinto the distribute'r inlet 18, unseajting'valve 19, which simultaneously unseats the sever'al fcheck 25,-valves 24 shown, so that the forwardly im- 'pelled gas may readily and freely flow to the severalcylinders through the pipes 23, giving to each an initial starting charge which may be ignitedby the usual igniter means (not shown) employed in connection with gas engines. When the piston 2 has been pushed entirely in, its forward end engages a shoulder 26, which, in this instance, may be a mere cotter pin passed through the rod 14, 4so that the end of the forward -movement of the piston 2V will positively Vopen the valve 11. In the preferred construction, theoutlet 17 from the cylinder 1 is so arranged that when the piston 2 has been pushed fully in and held, it will cover said outlet and .thus prevent any gas from flowing through from the supply in the event the valve 8 should inadvertently be left open. While the valve 8 should be closed before the piston 2 is forced in, if it should be left open, the only effect would be (in the event pressure were removed from the handle 4) to force .the piston 2 outwardly again so that a second charge could I be measured ready to be delivered to the cylinders by a second forward movement of the iston 2. In some instances such as starting a motor in cold weather, it may be desirable to force two charges into the engine, hence, by this arrangement, this can be done by simply leaving the valve 8 open and allowing the measuringcylinder to be lled twice so that a' double charge ymay be forced into the engine, after which the valve 8 should, of course, be closed. In the event the operator should forget to close the valve 8, he would be visibly warned of his failure so to do by reason of the fact that the handle 4 would be forced outwardly.

. From the foregoing it will be Seen that Vrunning the lengine in the event it is desired lto warm up the engine preparatory to having. it run on its own normal fuel, or for any 4vother reason.,` This apparatus com- 75 prises an outlet 27 which leads to the usual:

intake manifold (not shown) through which the usual gas is supplied to the engine. This outlet 27 is no-rmally closed by valve 28 heldseatedby a spring 29.

30 is a button 'or'handle at the end of a rod 31, said rod being held retracted in any suitable way as by a spring 82, the forward end of'said rod being arranged to engage the valve,28 so that when the rod is pushed in, said valve 28 will be opened. The main gas inlet 7 has a continuation which leads to the valve 28, hence, after the engine has been started, the operator may press against the button orhandle 30 and unseat the valve 90 28 so that the stored gas will flow directly hiugh the outlet 27 into the engine manio It will be observed that only an absolutely predetermined quantity of gas can possibly reach the engine cylinders since the valve 11 is not .only held closed Iby the pressure of the gas back of it when the piston 2 has been fully extended, but said Valve 11 is also pulled closed mechanically before the gas pressure is applied directly thereto for the purpose of holding it closed, this pulling closed of the valve 11 being'efected by the .action of the piston 2 against the rod 14.

The comparatively light action of the piston'2 and its relatively large surface area guarantees the effective operation of the apparatus even though the pressure in the storage tank is very light, as is the case when the storage tank is nearly exhausted;

4and it will furthermore be seen that a predetermined and accurately measured volume of gas may be secured without the employment of any pressure-reducing valve or apparatus such as frequently employed in other apparatus of this character.

What I claim is:

1. In a gas engine starter,

a measuring ,cylinder, a Ypiston therein, means for yield:-

ingly checkin the receding movement thereof, a gas 1nlet leading into said cylinder in front of said piston for admitting as under pressure, a' valve for said inlet, with means for positively closing said valve by the action ofthe piston, and a manually operable means for permitting said' piston to be advanced to expel the gas therein.

' 2. In a gas engine starter, a measurinc cylinder, a piston therein, means for viel ingly checking the receding movement there- 130 o 1,078,2eo

of, a gas inlet into `Said measuring lcylinder in front of saidk piston for admitting gas under pressure an outwardly open.- lng valvetherefor, wit meansv for closin saidl valve by the action of the piston an holding the same closed by the external gas pressure a ainst the samev untilthe piston /is advance and means associated with lthe inlet, with means' for positively closing said valve by the action of the, piston, and a .manually 'operable means for permitting said piston to be advanced to expel the gas theren'., .t f

4. n a as engin' e star er, a. measuri cylinder, agpiston therein, means for yie ingly checking the receding movement thereof, a gas inlet leading into said cylinder in front of said piston for admit-ting gas under p pressure, a valve for said inlet, wlth means for positively closing said valve by the action of the piston, a manually operable means for permitting saidpiston to be advanced to expel the gas therein, and a. gas distributing means l'associated with said measuring cylinder, .saidV distributing means including a valved passage having two outwardly opening valves therein.

5. In a gas engine starter, a measuringy cyhnder, a piston thereln, means for yiel ingly checking thereceding movement thereof, a gas inlet leading into said cylinder in front of said piston for admitting gas under pressure, a valve for said inlet, with means for positively closing said valve by the action of the piston, amanually operable means for permitting said piston to be advanoedv to expel the gas therein, and a gas distributing means associa-ted with said measuring cylinder, said distributing means including a valved passage having two outwardly opening' valves therein, one valve being mechanically opened by the movement,

ofthe other valve. o l

6.. In a gas engine starter, a measurin cylinder, a piston therein, means for yiel ingly checking the receding movement thereof, a gas inlet leading into said cylinder in front of said piston for admitting 'gas under pressure, a valve for said inlet, withmeans for positively closing said valve by the action ofthe piston, 'a manually operable means for permitting said piston to be advanced to expel the gas-therein, and a gas distributing means `associated with said measuring cylinder, said distributing means includin la valved passage having two self-closing outwardly opening valves therein, one valve being mechanically yopened by t-he movement of the other valve.

7. In afv gas engine starter, a'gas measuring device, with means for manually expelling gas contained therein therefrom through a distributing outlet, and a distributing device associated with ,said distributing outlet includingv two self-closing' outwardly opening valves, one of Said valves being opened by the movement of the other, 4,the latter being opened by the pressure of gas delivered thereto .from the measurin device.

'CHARLESfl-I. UNO.V lVitnesses:

W. H. Somma, L R. W. Soma.. 

